CANCEL CULTURE, WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT

by CHARLES ROBEY
(MOODY, AL USA)

PROLOGUE

Can you remember back to the last time you laughed at yourself and others laughed along with you? Has it seemed like an eternity?

We all have our friends; someone we would probably trust our lives with. Batman had Robin. The Lone Ranger had his faithful companion Tonto. The cowboy hero Red Rider had Little Beaver. Moses had Aaron. Joseph had Caleb. Our Lord Himself, God in the flesh, had His beloved disciple, John.

We’re still real live humans, our spiritual, mental, and physical characteristics have not changed. We still eat and sleep about the same. We probably still have our habits, be they good or bad. Unfortunately, we still gain a pound or two occasionally. So, what’s different? What has changed, within our portion of this great universe, known to us as a providentially created and blessed republic?

Fast-forward to this unpredictable Twenty-First century. Have you taken a spin around this good ole USA lately? Either in person, by social media, by the mainstream news media, by neighborhood gossip, or even maybe by the legal system or structured religious institutions? If so, what have you learned?

We Americans seem to have left those good old days of the past behind us. Our present-day government semmingly has made every effort to depart from our God-given Constitution. In doing so we have become less secure in our living and worship.

In this modern-day progressive society our basic God-given freedoms are quickly being stripped away. We seem to have "progressed" into the hustle and bustle of the Twenty-First Century with its victims being the forgotten man or woman.

Simply put, among many other modern day progressively-enhanced idioms, it’s this newly-revived socialist culture labeled “Cancel Culture," or CC for short. Just where and when did it this progressive phenomenon happen? How long will it last? When will it end?

For those of you who aren't aware, cancel culture refers to the mass withdrawal of support from public figures or celebrities who have done things that aren't socially accepted today. This practice of canceling or mass shaming often occurs on social media platforms. (Internet)

And now this ungodly practice seems to be carried over into the life of common man. It surely has no right or justification in our God-graced republic. According to the Bible we all are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalms 139:14) and endowed in the very image and likeness of our Creator. (Genesis 1:26-27) As citizens of this great republic, we are all given certain inalienable rights, those are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

So, Cancel Culture, CC as it is known, is simply a non-inherited progressive concept that is being forced upon us. Herein is another fiction parable, an earthly story with a heavenly meaning, entitled “Cancel Culture, Who Would Have Thought."

Lamentations 2:19 "Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the LORD. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at every street corner.

Fall had made its decent upon us. Its usual afternoon breeze peeling through the changing coloring book foliage, had given way to the beckoning of my usual, seasonal walk in the park. I was a little winded, so the park bench was too inviting to turn down. My rest break is when I met him. Was it a dream, vision, or my tired reminiscence?

“Mind if I stop and sit a spell, my good man?” was his comment.

Not wanting to give way to my concerns about his demeanor and dress, I gave a nod of welcome. His unusual clothing and his obvious old English dialogue was beyond me.

He was a true American Revolutionary patriot of the past. I thought. He was all decked out in the customary three-corner hat, long tailed coat, buttoned vest, knickers, long stockings and buckled shoes. He was carrying the original American flag, only displaying thirteen stars, which topped off the effect. After a spell of silence, and perceiving that he must surely be from the past, I attempted to open our conversation.

“What do you think of this present generation?” I asked.

The conversation didn’t go very far, as it turned out to be one-sided. Nonetheless, he must have read my mind.

“Have you given much thought to this younger generation’s progressive, socialistic terminology?” he asked. “If so, what’s your thought on this new Cancel Culture mindset? It is an unholy attempt to cancel all free speech, and faith-based culture, including the Holy Scripture and our founding fathers' divinely guided documents.”

He was surely on a roll, I thought, as he continued on.

“What if Columbus’ discovering of America had not been an accident? Does God have a special purpose for America? Obviously, over time, we have come to realize God did and still does have certain plans for America.” (Daniel 2:19-23)

“What a mouthful,” I surmised. “Please sir, what exactly do you mean?”

He seemed to be anxious as he continued on, “You seem to know my history, dear friend, so we must hurry. Cancel Culture is upon us and our republic. We have little time left to save our nation, our founding documents, our Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Midnight is getting close. We must ride again. This time a cry of freedom must be heard throughout all the land. This great republic of ours can’t wait. It must be saved now or never.”

That statement opened much wonderment to my small finite patriotic-framed mind so I immediately looked to continue conversation and give my pledge of allegiance to this great republic. Nonetheless, he was gone, disappearing as quickly as he had arrived. I wondered what was next.

However, as usual, my dream ended with the disappearance of the scene. I was still sitting on the park bench alone, feeding peanuts to the park's friendly squirrels.

I suddenly heard the wife calling out from a distance. “Dear, are you there in the park again, enjoying this fine fall weather? Come on home now, supper is just about ready.”

“Yes, Dear, I’m coming. Thanks for reminding me," I called back.

End of dream story, beginning of service.

EPILOGUE

I trust you enjoyed this fictional discourse. Please allow me to reach inside your thinking cap and pick your mind a bit. What did I just see? Is it that you are also like-minded in respect to this great country America, the land of the free and the home of the brave?

As for me, with all the modern day ridiculous acronyms hanging around, why would I choose the CC to write about? Simply put, being older than dirt and twice as gritty, it’s those good ole times I remember most about growing up in America.

We young ones really weren’t so mischievous; we just had our playful good humor. You see, we didn’t have all those modern marvels such as laptop PCs, iPads, iPhones, and video games. Texting wasn’t a thing either. So, we actually had to talk to one another.

We had to settle for playing marbles in the mud, making prank calls to our teachers’ homes, playing hide and seek, catching lightning bugs, climbing big trees, and the like. We would sit in church and pass love letters to our young puppy loves, by way of pointing to the hymn titles; such as Love Lifted Me, Blessed Assurance and the like. That is, until I caught my preacher Daddy’s convicting eyes.

Politics wasn’t even real back then, or was it? I remember not being allowed to park my bike at school for displaying an “I like Ike” button on the back fender. Cancel culture, who would have thought of it?

Yes, in my lifetime, I’ve traveled many roads, climbed a few mountains, visited many valleys, crossed my share of bridges, swung on some stars, followed many dreams, imagined many cloud pictures, and enjoyed many sweet nightly dreams. So, you’d think I would be in better shape from all that. Well, by the grace of God, I still celebrate one day at a time.

If this bit of ending epilogue brings a smile to your face, it means you were lucky to have such good times. It also means you're kind of old!

A closing thought: Here’s how to have a happy life. Laugh a lot, dream sweet dreams, respect one another, and follow God’s Word. (Matthew 7:12) Or in other words, keep doing what you’re doing. As for CC, who would have thought? Amen